In The Most Unexpected Ways
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and ten: As the weeks go by, raising Beth, Shelby comes to a decision.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 14th cycle. Now cycle 15!_

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**"In the Most Unexpected Ways"  
Shelby & Beth  
Sequel to "Solid Ground" and "Baby Steps" **

She hadn't made the decision right away. The first few weeks had been such chaos, she didn't even consider it.

It had soon become evident she would need help. The thing about being on her own, it was all on her… She wanted to take some time off, to be with Beth in those first few weeks, but then Vocal Adrenaline hadn't become what it was by closing up shop just because school was ending, so there went her one possible out. But then a new idea presented itself. She did have seniors on their way out – and seniors in a constant circulation. She could trust them to assist her, with enough motivation. And then technology was on her side, too. Two computers, two webcams, and a headset… It was all she needed to see that her kids didn't get lazy without her, and that her child remained certain her mother was there with her and for her. It wasn't ideal, she'd be first to admit, but it was just going to have to work. She just couldn't put her needs all the way above her baby girl. She still made sure to be on site one day per week, to deal with all the things she couldn't sitting at home with a crying infant. They'd started anticipating the moment where she'd pull out her notebook and list off these corrections she wanted to attend to.

There were difficulties here just as there were there… It was alright though; she hardly expected motherhood to happen smoothly. It was all part of what she'd anticipated though… Sleepless nights, fussiness, diapers… They weren't the things that had concerned her the most… That was something any parent would have to deal with. Her one concern spoke to a different set.

She had experienced both halves of it, just not with the same children. With Rachel, she had been able to feel the child grow in her belly, she' d spoken to her, sang to her… she'd bonded with her just sharing her body with her. Then she was born, and she was taken away, and as real as that bond had been, it had paled with years apart… Reuniting it now with the grown and evolved girl she'd given birth to, it hadn't been what she'd expected.

Then there was the other half, the one she had with Beth, where she was handed this brand new person, and her meter was still at zero where someone else's, in this case Quinn Fabray's, had spent nine months racking up points. So there was the fear, that her daughter wouldn't accept her as mother… It seemed almost silly to figure a newborn could make that kind of decision, but she still needed time to shake it.

But then the weeks started to pass. And somewhere in the middle of those nights, those cries, those diapers, she could see Beth start to grow and change. The time came where it was clear to see: She recognized her. No, more than that, again in assigning skills to her infant daughter, she felt the girl knew who she was… She was her mother, and that fact alone was enough to make her smile… It made Shelby well up with joy, pools of happy tears ready to dive at a moment's notice. There was nothing for her to be afraid of now.

It was when she'd gotten through to the point where she had her rhythm down, where she was no longer in a constant state of discovery and she was now adapted, just as much as Beth was, that she had made her decision.

She was quitting Carmel, quitting Vocal Adrenaline. She couldn't have two things that demanded so much of her time at once. And if it came down to it, there just was no contest at all; her daughter would win. Even then, she was a different person in those two worlds. And if she had to be honest, here again, she just preferred the person she was as mother to the girl with curious eyes and fine blonde hair.

They'd tried to get her to stay, and she knew she'd made the right decision when even no matter how obscene the offers got, she could continue saying no without the slightest hesitation. Eventually they'd just had to accept defeat as well as her resignation. She had recommended some of her senior aides as interim co-directors, knowing if she stayed 'until some replacement was found' it would become endless. She had to cut a line now, sever ties.

There was a moment, just one, as she was driving home, where a small panic took hold of her. She was out of a job now, with no prospect for a new one. She had money, she could deal with taking some time, just her and both, but eventually… She had to figure what she'd do, and find a new job there.

There were no more worries the moment she came home and there was her baby girl, smiling and holding out her arms. Shelby was all smiles as well, taking her out of her neighbor Mrs. Redman's arms and bringing her close. "Oh, I missed you, too," she told her. "I'm all yours now."

Alone, just the two of them now, Shelby felt absolutely right in her life. She didn't doubt or regret a single decision because each one of them, combined, had brought her to where she was.

She loved to watch Beth sleep… another day done. She was happy and at peace, and that was all she needed. Shelby had waited so long, stopped hoping for a while, but at last her dreams came true. She never would have imagined it would come this way, but then it was kind of perfect as it was. It gave her license to hope again, rather than to expect or take for granted.

THE END

_[A/N: Attention, reader! If you're at all skilled in helping break fic-planning conundrums, give a big ol' shout! :D]  
(Note to self, don't put the words 'crack' and 'fic' next to each other, it leads to confusion ;))_

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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